The sex narrative in India is undergoing a major shift. Many sexual wellness start-ups are seeing a huge growth in the country.

From lubricants and massagers to edible lingerie and sex games from kinky costumes to hundreds of types of vibrators; the sexual wellness industry is offering a variety of product to its ever increasing consumers.

While the use of sex toys is rising in India, sexologist in Pune and Mumbai are getting cases affected with wrong usage and/or overuse of sex toys.

Although there is an easy availability of these toys, there are many health hazards related to their use which are not spoken about.

Cases of a sex toy getting stuck in genitalia, overuse of a device like vibrator causing chronic numbness in sensitive parts and usage of unclean toys leading to infections, are frequently been witnessed by sexologist these days.

“I have seen cases of tearing of genitalia. There are many cases of complex infections getting registered because of substandard toys or unclean toys. Also, people want to enjoy things in virtual way and don’t want to live in the real world. They have unrealistic expectations about seeking pleasure. Many times, in order to satisfy these unrealistic expectations, they end up overusing these sex toys. Such overuse lands them into having psychological problems,” said Dr Vaibhav Lunkad, a sexologist from Pune.

Dr Rajan Bhosale, a senior sexologist from Mumbai, said, “I have cases where it has affected a person’s relationship in a bad way, because either of them was using a sex toy. I have seen that irrespective of whether you use it with or without the consent of your partner, it affects your relationship.”

He added, “Also, if they are using the substandard products, where the material used is of a bad quality then it can cause skin problems. Many people don’t know how to use them which then lands them in trouble.”

Doctors say that once people start using sex toys, they end up overusing it. Gadgets can’t be an alternative for genuine human touch. All these things later on cause depression in people.

Dr Prakash Kothari, a senior sexologist from Mumbai said, “There are women who are not satisfied in their relationship. They then use sex toys. The real worry comes when they are not educated on how to use it.”